Guardian
by PathBeater
Summary: Lilo may be Stitch's new guardian, but who will protect Lilo if any more aliens come to Earth and try to take Stitch? Apparently, Captain Gantu would be the perfect guardian for Lilo, according to Cobra Bubbles and Grand Councilwoman. Nani and Lilo do not share this opinion. Requested by Erin Primette.
1. A New Mission

**AN: First story, yay! This story was requested by Erin Primette. Erin, sorry this first chapter took a little while to get out. We're at the height of concert season in band and choir right now, so I got pretty busy with learning music. I finally got it though, even if it is just a little short. I'll try to update at least every two weeks (hopefully now that we're sliding into summer, I'll have more time). Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

"Take note of this," Grand Councilwoman said with authority as she gently picked up Stitch and proceeded to remove his handcuffs. "This creature has been sentenced to life in exile; a sentence that shall be henceforth served out here, on Earth." She set Stitch down in between Nani and Lilo, who was immediately hugged by a joyful Lilo as he snuggled against her side with quiet happiness. A look of acceptance finally took over Nani's face as she acknowledged the fact that her life was about to get a lot more interesting with Stitch staying, and she stroked a gentle hand over his head. If he made Lilo happy, then she was happy. "And, as caretaker of the alien lifeform Stitch," Grand Councilwoman continued, "this family is now under the official protection of the United Galactic Federation." She looked over at Cobra Bubbles and said a bit quieter, "We'll be checking in now and then."

"I was afraid you were going to say that," he replied, lowering his sunglasses. "This won't be easy to explain back at headquarters."

"Ah, I know what you mean," she said with a light laugh and a tiny smile as she turned to go back to her ship.

"Which is exactly why," Cobra raised his voice a bit, making her turn around again curiously, "I was going to suggest appointing Captain Gantu as Lilo's guardian."

"What?!" Lilo and Nani shouted at the same time, looking up from their reunion.

"Oh, no, no, NO! What can that possibly help?! I'll already have one alien in my house, I don't want another one!" Nani said in distress as she stood to face Cobra. "ESPECIALLY not one that's more trouble than Stitch. Besides, why can't I stay Lilo's guardian? I'm doing just fine at it!" Cobra stared at her, his expression staying unimpressed.

"I don't want that alien shark as a guardian, he tried to kill Stitch!" Lilo shrieked, holding Stitch tighter in her arms as she glared up at Cobra. "I thought you were supposed to be the guy who's trying to protect me from a bad home, not making me live in one!"

"Just hear me out, you two," he said, annoyance tinging his inflection. "I know it doesn't seem like the best solution right now, but what I am trying to accomplish with making Captain Gantu Lilo's guardian is protection from further aliens who would want to take Stitch."

"Hmm…" Grand Councilwoman thought to herself for a moment, looking down at Stitch clutched tight in Lilo's arms as he closed his eyes sadly and kept close to the young girl. "That may actually work."

"NO, it might not!" Nani protested. "I am perfectly capable of keeping Lilo and Stitch safe on my own."

"But not from other rogue aliens who wouldn't hesitate to kill the two of you to get their hands on Stitch," she answered. "That, and he is a core member of the Galactic Council, or at least he shall stay a core member if he agrees to this, which means I won't have to send someone to report every time we need to perform a routine check. Though I will have to talk with Captain Gantu about it, I believe this is a very good idea. Thank you, Agent."

"Just doing my job," Cobra replied, flicking his sunglasses back on.

"Of course," she said lightly. "I will be right back; I must have an important conversation with the Captain and the rest of the Council. Please stay here, and I will come back as soon as we are done and give you our answer." She then walked gracefully back up the ramp of her ship, giving short orders to her guards before she entered. They both nodded, then took up positions at either side of the ramp. Nani sighed in frustration, then got down on her knees again in defeat and brought Lilo and Stitch into a hug.

"What am I going to do with you two?" she whispered to herself.

* * *

Captain Gantu sat in silence, clenching and unclenching his giant hands as he stewed in his temporary quarters. The events of the afternoon were a blur as they raced in circles around his mind. What had possibly gone wrong that he had failed to catch Experiment 626 a second time? That little vermin was barely even the size of one of his fingers, yet he still managed to escape and stay escaped. He squeezed his hands closed again, imagining the pest squishing in them. He used to be second only to the Grand Councilwoman, but he had fallen so low in so little time. And it was all that abomination and his little human sidekick's fault. "They will pay for making a fool of me," he growled lowly to himself, his hands clamping even tighter. He heard the door slide open, but he didn't look up. His shame overwhelmed him. "Grand Councilwoman, I would like to apologize for the second failure of my mission," he said, his fangs gritted. "My actions were out of line today. I hope you still consider allowing me to keep my position."

"Believe it or not, Gantu, I am giving you another chance," Grand Councilwoman said. "Specifically speaking, the Council is very mercifully letting you earn back your position if you agree to take this new mission." This made Captain Gantu stand up in surprise, looking down at Grand Councilwoman curiously.

"The Council has already ruled?" he asked her.

"Yes, we have," she replied, "though for various reasons, you were not included in the ruling." He turned away from her, not wanting to meet her eyes.

"What is the mission?" he said quietly, stroking one of his tusks.

"You must choose between your permanent resignation, or taking the position of the guardian of Lilo Pelekai, the new owner of Stitch."

"The little human whelp who made me fail my mission a second time?" Captain Gantu snarled as he whirled around to face Grand Councilwoman again. "You can't possibly expect me to keep watch over her and the little biologically engineered pest she has declared her pet?"

"I do expect you to, because I know your demeanor is generally more professional than this when accepting missions," she said, her tone sharpening. "If you wish to earn your position on this Council again, I expect you to accept this mission. The choice is yours, Captain. Just contact me when you have made your final decision." Grand Councilwoman turned away from him and began to open the door.

"Wait," Captain Gantu said. The struggle was evident in his voice.

"Yes, Captain? Have you decided so soon?" Grand Councilwoman turned slightly, one hand still resting on the doorframe.

"I will accept the mission for the sake of my position on the Council," he answered, the words hissing out from his gritted teeth.

"Good," she said. "Your position as Lilo's guardian will be elaborated upon by the human in charge of her protection, Agent Bubbles. I expect you send me reports periodically."

"Yes, Grand Councilwoman."

* * *

Captain Gantu gazed back at Grand Councilwoman's ship as she stepped elegantly back up the ramp, not taking his eyes off of it until it had disappeared into space again. He then turned to the humans.

"Which one of you," he asked, his voice heavy with disdain, "is Agent Bubbles?"

"That would be me, Captain," Cobra glanced up at him, his calculating glare seeming to penetrate Gantu's soul. Gantu leaned back imperceptibly from the human's gaze. "You listen to me real good, alien. Don't come into contact with any humans besides me and the Pelekais. Don't think I won't be checking up on Lilo. Don't even think I won't send you back up there to Grand Councilwoman and let her deal with you if you step out of line. I'll be coming by with the official paperwork in a few days."

"You can't be serious," Nani said halfheartedly, pulling Lilo and Stitch closer to her from their spot in the sand.

"Oh, I am," Cobra looked down at her. "Like I said before, I am the one they call when things go wrong. I don't want them to have to call me again, so simultaneously ensuring Lilo and Stitch's protection from hostile aliens who might try to get their hands on Stitch. Which is why Captain Gantu will make a good guardian for Lilo. Isn't that right, Captain?" Cobra glowered at the alien again.

"Yes, Agent," he replied with gritted fangs in what was most likely supposed to be a smile. "I will be a proper guardian for the human Lilo because that is the mission Grand Councilwoman has assigned me."

"Good. Now, about your house…" Cobra trailed off, looking at Nani meaningfully. She simply glowered back at him as Lilo smoldered. Stitch hissed at Gantu, flaring his spines as he stood in front of Lilo protectively. Cobra sighed at their reactions. His job was going to be a lot more complicated from now on.


	2. Oatmeal

Wow, I never thought I would get this done. Every two weeks, my butt...I had to force myself to sit down and write the rest of this once I finally got time to. Now that school is out, hopefully I'll get more time to type. Sorry this chappie is a little short, but I wanted to get it out to you all because it's been a while since my last post. Thank you, thank you, _thank you_ _so much for being patient with me!_ And thank you to all of you who have followed and favorited and reviewed this; your support really means a lot to me since this is the first fic I've posted.

Erin Primette: Yeah, it's gonna take them a while to warm up to each other. Lilo should be able to set 'em straight after a while though :)

SentinelSpockNimoy: Yes, his face was epic. I actually got a little inspiration from the story cover I chose XD

nightmaster000: I've sort of gone the way of an AU, and I don't have immediate access to the Lilo and Stitch series, so I have simply diverged from the canon near the end of the first Lilo and Stitch movie and will be writing from there.

Now, on with the story!

* * *

Lilo glared over her bowl of oatmeal at Gantu, who looked down at her with equal venom. Stitch sat under the table, curled around Lilo's feet protectively like the dog he had first pretended to be. Nani shot hate-filled glances over at the tall alien every few minutes when she wasn't preoccupied with cooking. She flipped a pancake several feet into the air, her eyes not leaving the table of aliens and her sister even when the pancake came flipping back down from a tremendous height and landed roughly in the pan. The now-vaulting ceilings in all the main rooms prevented Gantu from having to bend over halfway to travel through the house, and it also enabled Nani this particular morning to angrily sling pancakes into the air without them splatting on the ceiling in a mess of half-cooked batter. Jumba and Pleakley looked on uncomfortably. Several silence-filled moments later, Nani slammed a large platter of pancakes down on the table and began dishing them out to the aliens' plates. "Thank you, Nani, it's so nice of you to let us stay here," Pleakley declared a little too loudly as he attempted to lighten the mood.

"Of course," she replied through gritted teeth as she set the butter tin down beside of the pancake platter.

"So, this is what humans eat for breakfast?" he kept talking, this time in interest. "I've studied so much about your planet, but I managed to overlook some things in human culture…"

"Yes, because the mosquitos are the dominant species here," Jumba muttered.

"Now, listen here, bub, I'll have you know that mosquitos are a very advanced species and have shown signs of sentience before," Pleakley scowled as he gestured to Nani and Lilo. "How was I supposed to know that they were the dominant species when there are way more mosquitos than them?"

"You wouldn't know sentience if it spat in your face," Jumba sneered. The two started arguing loudly, their shouting overlapping each other's until Nani herself yelled at them.

"Would you two cut it out?! Just eat already!"

Lilo mumbed something to her bowl of oatmeal.

"What's wrong, Lilo? Why aren't you eating your breakfast?" Nani's voice immediately softened as she kneeled beside of her sister.

"Why do they get pancakes and I have to eat oatmeal?" she mumbled a little louder. Stitch's ears perked up from his spot at her feet.

"You're still growing, Lilo," her older sister explained gently. "Oatmeal is healthy! You need it more than pancakes and syrup right now."

"How do you know they're not growing anymore?" she huffed, pointing at the three aliens sitting at the table around her. They leaned back from her accusing finger, Pleakley looking over at Nani and shaking his head in fear.

"I'm pretty sure they're all adult-sized by now," Nani said dryly. "But you're not. So no leaving that chair before you eat at least half of that bowl."

"No!" Lilo replied, slumping down in her chair. "I don't like oatmeal!"

"Please just eat a little bit, Lilo? I've already put as much sugar in it as I can," Nani asked her sister, a begging note entering her tone.

"No," Lilo repeated quieter as she slumped farther down.

"Fine. You'll just have to stay at this table until you decide to eat."

Lilo said nothing as she slowly slid out of her chair and under the table, laying down beside of Stitch like she had lost all purpose in life.

"Agh, Lilo!" Nani yelled, taking her by the arms and attempting to drag her back up into her seat. "Sit up and eat your oatmeal!" This was extremely uneffective, as Lilo simply slumped down to the tile again instead of letting her older sister set her back in her chair again. Gantu stood, his shadow looming over the table as he looked down at the two humans.

"What is so horrible about this human mush that the girl refuses to eat it?" he asked Nani.

"Oh, well, um..." Nani looked up at him, apprehension dancing across her face. She let go of Lilo and attempted to meet the captain's eyes. "It doesn't have a lot of flavor, I guess."

"Can you not flavor it?" Gantu asked coldly.

"I guess I could," she answered. "I can't think of what to flavor it with that Lilo would enjoy and it would still be healthy to eat, though."

"Hmm. Lilo, as your guardian, I order you to sit up properly in your chair and eat your breakfast."

"You can't tell me what to do!" Lilo cried out suddenly, scrambling from her spot under the table. "You're not part of my family!" Stitch quickly followed, staying right at her feet like he had been since Gantu had come.

"As your legal guardian, I am in charge of you, whether or not we are biologically connected," Gantu sighed irritably. "Now sit down in your chair and eat your breakfast."

"I don't care if you're my guardian or not," Lilo declared, flopping in her chair again with her arms crossed. "You'll never be part of my family." The others looked as discreetly as they could to watch Gantu's reaction. He simply sighed again and sat heavily. This was going to be harder than he thought.

* * *

"I have to go to work now, can you all keep an eye on Lilo?" Nani shouted across the house.

"Yeah, sure, of course," Pleakley answered distractedly, not looking up from his game of Galactic War with Jumba. The scientist had one of his key pieces trapped in the corner, and was about to capture one of his territories if Pleakley didn't play smart.

"She's in the backyard with Stitch right now, just keep an eye on her," Nani said, walking at a fast clip out the door. "Make sure she doesn't run off."

"Got it," Jumba said, then laughed diabolically as Pleakley finished his turn. "That's exactly the move I anticipated! You're done for, little Plorgonarian!" Pleakley's eye widened in horror as he realized his mistake.

"No, no, no, can I have a redo? Can I please, just-change my move, that I just made-"

"No turning back now!" Jumba cackled, beginning his turn. Gantu laid his book down in his lap and looked at the other two aliens in disdain.

"Should we not be keeping an eye on the vermin and his owner?" he asked.

"Meh, they'll be fine," Jumba answered, not looking up from the board as he continued his turn. "They always like to run around town. That was what Nani used to let them do all the time when she worked." Gantu grunted in annoyance, standing as he gently tossed his book onto his chair.

"I'll go watch them," he grumbled, striding out to the backyard.

"Ha! That's the end of my turn," Jumba crowed. "I'd like to see you come back from that, Pleakley!"

"Oh dear...um..." Pleakley stared at the board helplessly, then let his head fall on the edge of the table as he groaned. "I think you might have won." Suddenly, the two of them heard a loud roaring from the backyard, and both their heads shot up. They looked at each other in fear, then abandoned their game in favor of sprinting outside. They threw open the back door to find Gantu staring down the hill, Lilo and Stitch nowhere in sight. "What happened, where are they?" Pleakley cried nervously.

"I don't know," Gantu growled. "Which means we are going to have to go out and find them again."


End file.
